According to Rockford’s research, these are some of the unique features of this historic building:

• The Morton Hotel is the fourth hotel structure on the northwest corner of Monroe Center and Ionia Avenue NW since Myron Hinsdell built the Hinsdell House on the site in 1835. It was sold several years later and renamed the National House.

• The National burned in 1855 and 1872, after which it was rebuilt as the Morton Hotel. Built with the latest in fire protection, the five-story hotel was a popular destination for celebrities, including President William McKinley.

• The popularity of the Morton Hotel fell with the 1913 completion of the Pantlind Hotel – now Amway Grand Plaza Hotel. A group of furniture company executives got together to build a new Morton Hotel at a cost of $1.5 million.

• Local construction firm Owen-Ames-Kimball built the Morton Hotel at the same time it was completing the Rowe Hotel at the corner of Michigan Street and Monroe Avenue NW and an addition to the Pantlind Hotel. The Rowe Hotel, which later became Olds Manor, has been vacant for the past 12½ years.

• Starting in 1927, the Burleson Sanitarium occupied the entire 12th floor for 10 years. The clinic specialized in “treating diseases of the rectum.”

• “The Kitten Club,” which featured high-heeled young women in bustiers with kitten ears, was one of the more notorious restaurant and bars at the Morton. In 1965, it gained worldwide attention when a 37-year-old mother of 10 lied about her age and landed a job at the night club.

• In 1970, the Morton Hotel entered bankruptcy. It was purchased by the Saperstein family and converted into 224 rent-subsidized apartments under contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Rockford Construction bought the property in 2011 after the Saperstein’s 40-year contract expired.